To watch this event, you can rent or buy the video here.
Our second event in a busy November saw The Future Economy Network look at “Build Back Better: Tech and Retrofit”, which took place on the morning of 5th November. The event was attended by businesses in a wide range of industries, and attendees enjoyed some pre-discussion networking in small break out groups before the event began. This interactive online panel discussion was kindly sponsored by Bevan Brittan, a UK-Top 100 law firm with a keen influence on sustainability in relation to energy and buildings.
Katherine Piper, Director of The Future Economy Network, welcomed attendees, highlighting the benefits of joining the Network and also sharing updates about The Future Economy Network’s Carbon Neutral Hub in Bristol, Future Leap. Tatum Hodgkinson, Memberships and Communications Manager at The Future Economy Network, introduced herself during this time and highlighted the key aims of the Network. Katherine also briefly ran through the plans for The Festival of Sustainable Business. She finished her introduction with a quick poll to the audience, to understand the level of knowledge the attendees had on the topic.
Katherine kicked off the discussions by asking panel members to introduce themselves. The first discussion, “Will Government funding create a "boom and bust" in the retrofit sector, and how can we prevent this?” was covered by Raja Hanna from BEIS, Nathan Bradberry from Bevan Brittan, Selene Molina Blanco from Vattenfall, and Tom Robinson from Adaptavate. After panel time, the audience took part in engaging Q&A time.
After a quick tea break, Katherine introduced the second discussion, “Sustainability in tech and retrofit relies on better upskilling and education. How can we all support this?”. Lucy Pedler from The Green Register started the discussion, followed by Raja Hanna, Tom Robinson, Becky Gordon from Interface and Nathan Bradberry. After panel time, the audience took part in engaging Q&A time.
For the final panel discussion, the question was “Net zero targets have seen a surge in popularity, including scope 3. How can tech and retrofit lead the way in this?”. Darren Evans from Darren Evans Ltd started the discussion, followed by Selene, Nathan, Tom and Becky. Again, the audience took part in engaging Q&A.
All panel members were invited to suggest a “Call to Action”, which you can find below:
· All members and listeners engage in the government’s clean heat consultations.
· For anyone who has influence on the selection of products and materials for the built environment to look at the embodied carbon impact.
· Focus on creating market conditions that allow for the most cost-effective measures to get us to zero carbon, much like solar and wind.
· Commit to being better today than you were yesterday – better for the people around you and the planet.
· Inform at least ten contractors in the West of England area about the free Futureproof training initiative.
· Continue to network on platforms such as those supported by FEN this to make connections, share ideas and support each other to raise the profile and importance of #retrofit and #buildbackgreener.
The audience then took part in a final two polls, highlighting an increase in knowledge on the topic and a likelihood to take sustainable action as a result of the event.
Multiple attendees made use of the 60 second pitch opportunity (Karshare, Future Leap, Halcyan Water and Platinum 3D Consultants), and everyone was then able to network in different groups using facilitated break out rooms, before the event finished.
A huge thank you to our sponsors, Bevan Brittan, and our speakers and attendees of this event, without which our events calendar would not be possible.
